Module 10

Internet Protocol (IP) is the routed protocol of the Internet. IP addressing enables packets to be routed from source to destination using the best available path. Routing protocols allow routers to build tables from which to determine the best path to a host on the Internet.

IP is a connectionless, unreliable, best-effort delivery protocol. The term connectionless means that no dedicated circuit IP determines the most efficient route for data based on the routing protocol The terms unreliable and best-effort do not imply that the system is unreliable and does not work well, but that IP does not verify that the data reached its destination. This function is handled by the upper layer protocols.

At the network layer, the data is encapsulated into packets, also known as datagrams. IP determines the contents of the IP packet header, which includes addressing and other control information, but is not concerned with the actual data. Layer 2 Ethernet frames are designed to operate within a broadcast domain using the MAC address that is burned into the physical device.

As a frame is received at a router interface, the destination MAC address is extracted The address is checked to see if the frame is directly addressed to the router interface, or if it is a broadcast. In either of these two cases, the frame is accepted Otherwise, the frame is discarded since it is destined for another device on the collision domain

The accepted frame has the Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) information extracted from the frame trailer, and calculated to verify that the frame data is without error. If the check is valid, the frame header and trailer are removed and the packet is passed up to Layer 3. The packet is then checked to see if it is actually destined for the router, or if it is to be routed to another device in the internetwork.

If the destination IP address matches one of the router ports, the Layer 3 header is removed and the data is passed up to the Layer 4 If the packet is to be routed, the destination IP address will be compared to the routing table. If a match is found or there is a default route, the packet will be sent to the interface specified in the matched routing table statement. The frame is then transmitted to the next broadcast domain on its trip to the final destination

Connectionless network processes are often referred to as packet switched processes. As the packets pass from source to destination, packets can switch to different paths, and possibly arrive out of order Connection-oriented network processes are often referred to as circuit switched processes. A connection with the recipient is first established, and then data transfer begins.

The Internet is a gigantic, connectionless network in which all packet deliveries are handled by IP. TCP adds Layer 4, connection-oriented reliability services to IP

IP packets consist of the data from upper layers plus an IP header. The IP header consists of the following: Version IP header length (HLEN) Type-of-service (TOS) Total length Identification

Flags Fragment offset Time-to-live (TTL) Protocol Header checksum Source address Destination address Options Padding Data

Routing is the process of finding the most efficient path from one device to another. The primary device that performs the routing process is the router A router is a network layer device that uses one or more routing metrics to determine the optimal path Routing metrics are values used in determining the advantage of one route over another.

The following are the two key functions of a router: Routers must maintain routing tables and make sure other routers know of changes in the network topology. This function is performed using a routing protocol to communicate network information with other routers. When packets arrive at an interface, the router must use the routing table to determine where to send them. The router switches the packets to the appropriate interface, adds the necessary framing information for the interface, and then transmits the frame.

Routers pass data frames between networks based on Layer 3 information Routers make logical decisions regarding the best path for the delivery of data Routers then direct packets to the appropriate output port to be encapsulated for transmission The encapsulation and de-encapsulation process occurs each time a packet transfers through a router.

This process breaks up the data stream into segments, adds the appropriate headers and trailers then transmits the data. The de-encapsulation process is the opposite process, removing the headers and trailers, then recombining the data into a seamless stream.